Things are not always as they appear. That statement is often repeated and is well said. I recall enjoying an evening at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo at the Broadmoor Arena in Colorado Springs in the late 1960s. The guest celebrities were Doc and Festus of the Gunsmoke television series. In their segment they did several of their give and take comedy routines familiar to those who had watched the programs on television.

Then it came the time for Festus to sing a western ballad. In a smooth, rich baritone voice the ballad rolled out of that squeaky-voiced Festus, the stumbling, mumbling deputy of Marshall Dillon! I was really taken by surprise! It turns out that Festus was, in real life Ken Curtis, once  a member of the Sons of the Pioneers after a prior notable career in other musical venues.

Things are not always as they appear to be.

Middle class America, sometimes describing themselves as being “in a rat race,” often have the subtle sense that it looks like “the rats are winning!” When I was a practicing CPA, preparing tax returns and keeping track of records for that purpose, basically, as it turned out, it appeared that perhaps the rats were winning because the deck was stacked against people at the start.

A young couple—college graduates or not—decide to marry, have a family, fulfill careers, and enjoy the good life of American freedom. Several massive issues hit them immediately: They both get jobs; they both need a car; they want to buy a home; children appear on the scene; providing for their education looms over them; starting a retirement fund; paying college loans, car loans, home mortgage; financial needs mushroom; and they are told, in counsel, that they should have at least six months of emergency funds set aside to meet unexpected calamities! It looks like the rats are winning because they have a head start!

If the couple has no real, practical faith in God, they are way behind already. In today’s American culture, there is a strong trend that when the son or daughter turns eighteen years old and graduates from high school, its “Goodbye, Mom and Dad, and your God, I am done with it!”

What a dismal picture I have painted, yet it is so often the way it is. Things are not always what they seem to be. The God of reality has been replaced with the god of things and stuff…and emptiness and hopelessness.  If God didn’t move, who did? Perhaps it is designed to bring man to face the question, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul” (Mark 8:36).

When viewed through the lenses of spiritual reality, there is hope, for Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  When Jesus asked His disciples, in John 6:67-69, “Do you also want to go away,” Peter exclaimed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

As one of his subtitles in his paraphrase of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, J.B. Phillips wrote, “Man’s Extremity Is God’s Opportunity.” When we get to the end of our rope, God is there.

The godless mindset of the liberal, socialistic elements of our society swarmed to the appealing oratory of Barack Obama and allowed him eight years of almost free-wheeling manipulation of the basic foundations of our Republic, and any attempt at rebuke was met with an outcry of “racist” or “conspiracy theorist.” No one was allowed to properly vet Obama and his background is, at best, a shadowy uncertainty.

No doubt, like most of the media and the Clinton campaign, he expected Hillary to end up winning the presidency. Evidently, that led him to quietly mutter, “The end of the Republic has never looked better” during the early moments of his talk at the April 30, 2016, Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C. Why would a president say that, after eight years, unless he was on a planned program to accomplish just that? Yet, no one has challenged him on it, so far as I have seen. Not one.

Well, he did set out to “fundamentally transform America forever,” didn’t he? He told us that plainly, over and over during the 2008 campaign. And now he has summed up his legacy as a success and the country is in greater shape than it has ever been. Deceit and deception are two descriptive words that come to mind.

Sometimes things are not as they appear to be.

Why did God allow him to become president? How could it have been possible that so many fell into lockstep with him, even now claiming to hold him at a popularity level of fifty-three or more per cent of the nation? Was God allowing this nation, which has been the beacon of light and hope for the whole world, to test its real heart and commitment?

He has shown the nation what the liberals had to offer, and it was like a wet paper sack, empty and holding nothing. At this writing there are sixty-nine lemmings who are piled up at the bottom of the cliff, having plunged over the edge still committed to a failed leadership with a failed philosophy.

Fortunately, grassroots America, both evangelical Christian and every-day hardhats and blue collar patriots rose up and defied the so-called, self-identified “more intelligent” who were so sure they had captured the election and would have eight more years of Obama destruction of America’s foundations.

Obama came into office with two agendas—one, an assigned task of “leading us into a new world order,” which would require the destruction of America’s sovereignty. The other one, in my own opinion, was a subtle and hidden desire and intent to effect the conversion of the world to Islam. His claim to be a Christian was an empty and totally unsupported effort to deceive and mislead from his true purpose. His most memorable moment, as he said in his opening remarks to the beginning of Ramadan, the Islamic holy days in 2009, was the early morning Islamic call to prayer.

What was the reason for that special tour of the Arab/Islamic countries so soon after becoming president in 2009, where he apologized for America and bowed down before the king of Saudi Arabia, a submissive, subjective gesture to the leader of another country?

Why has he been instrumental in overthrowing Islamic dictators, even, in Middle East countries? When the Egyptian military coup threw out the Muslim Brotherhood leadership, why did Obama send Secretaries Hagel and Kerry there to convince the new military government to allow the Muslim Brotherhood to have a part in it?

Why did he insist on calling the Fort Hood massacre “workplace violence” when it was clearly Islamic terrorism and everyone knows that to be so? Why did he mastermind such a benevolent agreement with Iran to allow them access to nuclear power and give them billions of dollars? Count the waste of American lives and tangible resources as the price we have paid. It makes  one wonder about the integrity of his oath of office.

Even Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, was too expensive to be acceptable, except for those who were subsidized by government funding, and insurance companies were abandoning the plan, wholesale, or pricing themselves out of reach of the needy. Some analysts have concluded that it was never meant to be successful but to be a tool to bring complete social medicine to America—a prime feature of the liberal, socialistic dream.

But America’s choice was simply like deciding what will we have for supper? Shall we put together a salad or a crockpot of a variety of ingredients of our own selected choices, or do we just open up another can of soup like we have done for eight years? America has decided to try a new menu of its own choosing.

But things are not always as they appear to be.

Had Hillary Clinton won the election, is there any doubt whatsoever that the downward spiral of America would have continued? So if that would have brought in a New World Order as the forerunner of a one world government—the seven-headed beast prophesied in Revelation 13—why did God, apparently, put a stop to it?

It spills out this way: While God has that ultimate goal in mind, He has never allowed “flesh and blood” (ungodly mankind) to decide how and when prophetic events, even personal salvation, are to occur. A notable example of that is His death. The religious leaders desperately wanted to kill Him, but He said, “No one takes it [His life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself” (John 10:18).

Remember what Jesus said in Luke 17:26-30 in regard to social and economic conditions at the coming of the Son of Man:

“And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.  Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

The context continues through verse 37 with more detail, but it is clear that America and the world will not be devastated and subservient to a new world order when Jesus returns. Social and economic activities will be in full swing when Jesus comes. God has kept His plan free of the taint of Adam’s “flesh and blood” input and has given a window of opportunity for evangelical Christians to tell the good news of salvation to as many more as possible. It reminds me of the words of an old country gospel song I heard many years ago and once again just recently: “Wait a little longer, please Jesus, a few more days to get our loved ones in!”

Perhaps one of your loved ones will be that final one He takes out of the Gentiles for His namesake!

Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com  

Believers in Jesus Christ, that Holy One of God, have the unique position and possibility of keeping their New Year’s Resolutions because they have the greatest known to man on their side:

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

And, this:

“…Because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

It is no wonder that the enemy of our souls would target our foundations of faith. The psalmist acknowledges this when he notes, “If the foundationsare destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3). The bottom line, the knot in the end of the rope for us is what Peter declared after many turned away, and Jesus asked, “Will you also go away?”

“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:68-69).

Let’s reach back, though, into eternity, before time began, and hook into those foundations that are detailed for us in the Holy Word and underlie all time and eternity:

 ^“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2).

“…In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (Titus 1:2).

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19).

It may appear to be a bit redundant that I repeatedly return to these particular verses for the truths they hold, but it is likewise testimony that those truths have not changed since the last time I quoted them.

Let’s go on, lest we forget other important essentials of our foundation:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:3-6).

And now, as for things to come:

“Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:13).

This promise, I believe, is the New Testament equivalent to Amos 3:7, above. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will guide us into “all” truth, not fragments here and there. Is that not what Paul relayed to the Ephesian elders, that he had not neglected to impart to them the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27)?

Then He says the Holy Spirit will tell us “things to come.” That is so worded that it cannot be missed—He will tell us things in advance of their appearance. No doubt but that is the foundation for Paul’s statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:4, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.”

What are some things, then, which have come to pass that were told of ahead of time? Two come to mind so gigantic that they must be acknowledged:

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’

“But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.’

“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’

“And the angel answered and said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren, for with God nothing will be impossible’” (Luke 1:26-37).

Couched in the middle of this passage is also an advanced notification that this One to be born will also reign over a kingdom that will endure forever and ever, telling us of a millennial kingdom to come, followed by an endless eternity in His reigning authority. This is historical fact, that Jesus Christ was born into this world of mankind, prophesied centuries before His advent, a foundational center piece.

Another truth couched in that passage is the truth of the source of life in the womb and when it begins. If that which was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary was not the beginning of life for this mortal Person, then it is an issue beyond any conclusion of medical science.

Here this, liberal pro-abortionists, the life of Jesus Christ began in the womb at that moment of miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. To refute that, you have to refute the very Word of God, a position no sane person should ever want to embrace!

That second event that was told beforehand and now has come to pass is that promised restoration of the Hebrew people to their ancient homeland. They were scattered among the nations because of their rebellion against God.

We are reminded of God’s unchangeable promises that that physical land would be the inheritance of the physical offspring of Abraham through his son, Isaac, the son of promise. It raises the question that the “naysayers” must answer: Has God ever made a promise He did not intend to keep? (remember, He knows all things from the beginning.)

The long history of the Hebrew people and their on-again, off-again submission to God’s authority and His punishments for their disobedience make up the content of the Old Testament after the time of David. We see His promise of restoration never wavering because it was based on the integrity of God’s name and not their obedience:

^“But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went. Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ‘I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,’ says the Lord God, ‘when I am hallowed in you before their eyes’” (Ezekiel 36:21-23).

“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all…” (Ezekiel 37:21-22a).

These two historical events, the birth of Jesus Christ on which our calendar and recording of time (i.e. B.C. –  A.D.) is made, and the return of the Jews from the nations to their ancient homeland with a dated statehood declaration of May 14, 1948, testify of God’s integrity to keep His promises.

Things to come that the Holy Spirit has told us already are looming on the near horizon, waiting for God’s “appointed time”:

A confirmation of a covenant with many (Daniel 9:27);

The Rapture of the saints (1 Thessalonians 4:19—to 5:4);

The emergence of a man on a white horse, promising peace but bent on conquering and to conquer (Revelation 6:2);

The Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel 38-39.

Our enduring foundation is that Blessed Hope of His coming, a hope both sure and steadfast, an anchor of the soul, and which enters into that holy place of God’s presence (Titus 2:13 & Hebrews 6:19).

 

Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com